* a stuffed animal is treated as a fashion accessory
* you've been asked to find her some Chemical X so she can become a super hero
* you curse the makers of Polly Pocket on a regular basis
* pink is considered a neutral color
* high pitched squeals are particles of speech
* you've ever called up a friend at night to say "I have a glitter emergency."
Last week Natalie just would not let go of the idea of catching a fairy. She set another trap, but this time included a few more enticing pieces that she felt sure no sprite could resist -- like a teeny tiny wand from her Little People castle set, a few cranberries to munch and a pistachio shell filled with water to wash it all down. She also left scraps of paper and broke several crayons into pieces to make it easy for a fairy to write - should the mood strike her.
"I just gotta catch one tonight to prove that they are real," Natalie shared.
After I put her to bed, I realized that eating the berries and leaving a note wasn't going to cut it. I needed to leave her more proof...in hopes of prolonging her sweet creative innocence. So, that night at 9 p.m. I actually left a voicemail for Gen, my craft-loving neighbor and friend, to say I had a glitter emergency. I felt that since she was a mother of three girls, she'd completely understand my pickle. Within minutes I received a call back from her.
"Glitter? Yep. Got it. I'll bring it to your house in 15 minutes," she said.
I love my neighbors...I mean most neighbors are willing to lend a cup of sugar or spare an egg, but it takes a special one to get in their car at night after a full day of wrangling their own little gremlins to hand deliver some silver sparkles.
In the morning Natalie awoke upset with herself for falling asleep.
"I was supposed to stay up all night to catch a fairy!" she whined.
"Hmmm...maybe we should check to see if one visited," I suggested.
Natalie immediately bolted out of bed and headed for the front porch. She came back a couple minutes later to report that she found a note and there was this silver glitter all over everything.
"See! Fairies do exist. Don't you think that stuff is fairy dust?" I inquired.
"No, it's not." she assured me.
"What? Of course it is!" I said
"Fairy dust is a lot smaller than this and it's gold not silver. I've seen it on T.V." she explained.
"Well, maybe you can't believe everything you see on T.V." I countered.
"Yea, well I know it's not real fairy dust." she replied.
"How do you know?" I asked
"Because I already tried sprinkling it on my arms and it didn't make me fly," she challenged.
"That's because a fairy is tiny and only needs a little bit of dust to fly. You are much bigger...you would need a cupful!" I replied.
As Natalie paused to consider my reasoning, I held my breath that she would accept it. She responded with a heavy sigh and turned around and headed to her room to ponder a better trap.
I sighed too...partly out of relief, but also because I know I can't make all of her dreams come true. As a parent you just want to make the impossible a reality for your kids. You want them to dream big even if their dreams are far-fetched. At that moment I just wished I could make it happen...with just one phone call...Hello Gen? Yea, I'm gonna need a lot more glitter.
